Season Review: The Kings - Fall Ball Nights
Record 7-1
Final Standings: Heartbreaking Loss in 2nd Round of Playoffs on December 6th, 2012
Insider Analysis:
Like anyone else in life who holds on to something too long, I held onto softball to long in 2012. 11 teams will do that to you as too much of a good thing is bad for you. Like the softball whore that I am in, I played in that wack ass monopoly late night fall weeknight softball league in the city (can't mention that classless ripoff organization here) as a member of the Kings.
I wasn't just at bat seeking here, I wanted to win. I knew these guys could play and were hardcore softball players that I really liked/ respected a lot like Johnny Blazon, Jason Yadoff and of course Christian,
Very Good Guys - Funny stuff.
From experience I knew what I was getting into in regards to the late starts associated with this league. This year the game times actually worked out for me as I had just revitalized my career with a new job so I experienced the best of both worlds by staying late at the office and then trekking off to games.
What I failed to plan for was the league's irresponsible cold weather byes in conjunction with Super Storm Sandy that further delayed the season. Long layoffs broke our entire team's focus, mojo, and momentum. We just couldn't turn it back on at playoff time; it's not an excuse, just a fact. Our final game was Thursday December 6th, that's just too late for softball and created a situation where when there was some part inside of you that was glad the season was over. That's not good and a sign that you've hung on too long
In our final game, we
were off our game, but still managed to rally from an early three run deficit to
take a one run lead. That lead was short lived and heading into the
bottom of the sixth we were down by two runs and that's when it just wasn't meant to be as:
- In the 6th we had runners on the corners when a hard hit liner was turned into a back breaking double play.
- In the 7th with one out, I shook off excuses and
singled to start a rally. The next two hitters followed suit with singles, but on each
hit I ran the bases extra conservatively as we trailed by 2 runs. Base
loaded now, one out, and the next batter hits a sinking liner the outfielder
makes a brilliant diving catch on. I was on 3rd, didn't anticipate the catch,
was late in tagging, then went back to tag and was thrown out at home. What I wanted to avoid happened. So Embarrassing. So Stupid. So Terrible. I had hung on too long and all the good I
had contributed that fall was gone. What a horrible last play of 2012. Painfully reminded me how humbling this game can be.
I hope to play again with these guys
again, but next time I hope to avoid that hanging on too long syndrome.
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